Nellie Cournoyea was re-appointed Vice Chairperson of the Canadian Polar Commission's Board of Directors for a second three year term in October 2013. A strong advocate for Northern issues and former Premier of the Northwest Territories (1991-1995), Ms. Cournoyea is currently serving as the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.
Born in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Ms. Cournoyea served as a broadcaster for nine years with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Ms. Cournoyea is well known for her promotion of social and economic development in the Northwest Territories and her extensive work on land claims. She worked as a land claim fieldworker for the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and her work negotiating land claims over an eight-year period led to the 1984 Inuvialuit Final Agreement. She is a founding member of the Committee of Original Peoples' Entitlement and has served on the boards of both the Inuvialuit Petroleum Corporation and Inuvialuit Development Corporation. Ms. Cournoyea was the first managing director of the Inuvialuit Development Corporation after being part of the land rights negotiating team. She also held the position of implementation coordinator for the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) for several years and served on the Board of Directors of Inuvialuit Petroleum Corporation, Inuvialuit Development Corporation, the Enrollment Authority and Arbitration Board.
Ms. Cournoyea received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for public service in 1994. She is the recipient of five honourary doctorates in law from Lakehead University (1995), Carleton University (1996), University of Toronto (1996), University of Lethbridge (2001) and University of Alberta (2004).
In 2008 the Governor General of Canada awarded Nellie Cournoyea the Northern Medal in recognition for her significant contributions to the evolution and reaffirmation of the Canadian North as part of our national identity.
Ms. Cournoyea has served in a volunteer capacity as Director of the Ingamo Hall Friendship Centre in Inuvik and is a founding member of the Northern Games Society. She also volunteers in Inuvialuit historical and cultural activities.
